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Aurelius Capital Management attempted to complicate Sprint Nextel's attempt to buy the remainder of Clearwire by offering the wireless service provider with $80 million in financing. Clearwire's board said it would evaluate Aurelius' offer, which is aimed at providing an alternative to Clearwire drawing funds from a Sprint line of credit. Crest Financial, a Clearwire investor, submitted a similar offer last week, pledging $240 million in funding.

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Clearwire directors said Wednesday that they were reviewing a new offer of $4.40 per share from DISH Network that tops Sprint Nextel's recently sweetened offer by 29%, a move that gives a choice to shareholders who have publicly criticized Sprint's bid as inadequate. Clearwire shareholders were scheduled to vote on the Sprint takeover offer Friday. In a statement, DISH Chairman Charlie Ergen said Clearwire's spectrum was a "key component" of DISH's plans to build a national wireless network.

Clearwire's board of directors may have appreciated Sprint Nextel's higher takeover bid, but the leading critics of the sale remained steadfast in their opposition even after Sprint improved its offer from $2.97 to $3.40 a share. In a regulatory filing, a group of four shareholders holding 18.2% of Clearwire shares argued the new offer remained too cheap. Crest Financial, another prominent investor, also expressed its disapproval in a filing. Clearwire said that it has held no direct talks with rival bidder DISH Network and does not expect that company will return with a new offer.

Clearwire sent a letter to shareholders detailing why they should accept Sprint Nextel's offer, asserting that it represents "fair, attractive and certain value." The letter comes on the heels of a move by a group of disaffected Clearwire investors -- led by Mount Kellett Capital Management -- that is pressing Sprint Nextel to improve its offer for the wireless service provider. Another dissenting shareholder, Crest Financial, has retained noted law firm Quinn Emanuel to press its lawsuit to stop the deal.

Clearwire took another step toward embracing Sprint Nextel's bid for its spectrum by starting to draw on Sprint's offer of financing despite a competing bid from DISH Network that is technically more lucrative. Dissident Clearwire shareholder Crest Financial told the Federal Communications Commission that the Sprint bid drastically undervalues the value of Clearwire's spectrum and that Crest believes it is not in the public interest.

Sprint Nextel's $2.1 billion offer to acquire the remaining stake in Clearwire that it doesn't already own may not be enough to win the approval of shareholders. Sprint, which controls 50.45% of Clearwire, must get the OK from investors holding 24.8% of Clearwire to close the deal. Clearwire shareholder Crest Financial, in a statement, said it "intends to take whatever actions it can, including petitioning the Federal Communications Commission, to protect the rights of Clearwire shareholders against unfair dealing by Sprint and other parties."